Online Retailers Less than Excellent

Retailers are failing to satisfy too many online shoppers, a report by Future Now reveals — although mass merchants as a group are outperforming many of the specialty chains.

“The top-rated site in this study scored only 67 out of a possible 100,” the company noted in its 2007 Retail Customer Experience Study, which used a mystery shopper survey that ignored prices and brands but focused on issues such as ease of shopping, quality of product descriptions, and interactive customer reviews and other confidence-building measures.

Among the e-commerce sites that delivered Future Now's highest-scoring “customer-centric experience,” the best was SmartBargains.com — which has fairly broad home textiles listings — followed by specialty retailers of electronics, jewelry and sporting goods.

The Land's End e-commerce site (a division of Sears Holdings) came in at No.12, with a 62 rating, essentially tied with the Wal-Mart site.